Thanks purple platinum. I posted the notice about Andrew and Edward receiving the order of the Garter in their own threads but didn't think to post it here.The Queen is being quite generous on her birthday.

thanks, ysbel!is there a thread that mention who receive Order of the Garter so far? and what is its function?

Queen hailed at church service'You have given us heart,' says Dean of Windsor

WINDSOR, England (Reuters) -- Queen Elizabeth II was praised for her "calmness, serenity and stillness" at a special service of thanksgiving on Sunday to mark her 80th birthday.
Dean of Windsor David Conner offered the tribute in St George's Chapel, the 15th century Gothic church in Windsor Castle that is the burial place for 10 monarchs.
At the service rounding off a weekend of birthday celebrations, Conner told the monarch "You have given us heart."http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/eu...ion=cnn_latest

Service of thanksgiving for Queen

The Queen marked her 80th birthday with the Royal Family at a special service of thanksgiving.
Hundreds of people filled St George's Chapel in the precincts of historic Windsor Castle to celebrate her landmark age.
The Queen's actual birthday was celebrated on Friday with a mix of public and private events - a traditional Royal walkabout and a family dinner hosted by the Prince of Wales.
The service took account of the Queen's role as Head of the Church of England, a position she views as deeply important.
Among the 700 guests were former prime ministers Baroness Thatcher and Sir John Major, Earl Spencer, the brother of Diana, Princess of Wales, and the Agha Khan.http://uk.news.yahoo.com/23042006/34...ing-queen.html

Queen praised for cheering nation

The Queen has been joined by members of the Royal Family for a thanksgiving service to celebrate her 80th birthday.
At the service in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, the Queen was praised for giving the nation "heart".
In his sermon, the Dean of Windsor, the Rt Reverend David Conner, also paid tribute to her "sense of calmness, serenity and stillness".http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4935200.stm

Britain's Queen Elizabeth II smiles as she leaves Windsor Castle's St. Georges Chapel in Windsor, England, Sunday, April 23, 2006 following a special Service of Thanksgiving to celebrate her 80th Birthday. Queen Elizabeth II was born on April 21, 1926 and became Queen in February 1952.

The Prince and Princess Michael of Kent and their son Freddie leave the service at St George's Chapel in Windsor, 23 April 2006. In yet a further homage for her 80th birthday, Queen Elizabeth II was hailed Sunday for imparting a "sense of calmness, serenity and stillness" to Britons buffeted by a turbulent world. A whiff of scandal returned to the British monarchy on Sunday with claims that the 61-year-old wife of a cousin of Queen Elizabeth II is having a fling with a 40-year-old Russian furniture tycoon. In a front-page splash, The News of the World newspaper said Princess Michael, who has been married to Prince Michael of Kent since 1978, had a romantic break with long-haired Mikhail Kravchenko in Venice, Italy.

It looks like almost the entire extended Royal Family turned out for the service. In this pic (courtesy HMQEII) we can see the Earl and Countess of Ulster, the Earl and Countess of St Andrews with some of their three children, Lord Nicholas Windsor, and other rarely-seen faces.

It is also noteworthy that now all of the Queen's children are Garter Knights, possibly the first time ever for any Sovereign with a daughter. It will be quite the family get-together at the next Garter Service at Windsor.

Queen Elizabeth is much beautiful dress and like more Queen Mother!!! Happy Birthday 80th!!!! Queen Elizabeth beside husband Prince Philip 58th anniversary with they married in 1947 november. They married 59th anniversary 2006!!! Next year 2007 they married 60th anniversary! Wow big royal family and Duchess Camilla is beautiful hat!

Some more pictures from Getty Images/Tim Graham. We can see more clearer of Royals and it's lovely we see Lady Sarah Chatto, the Duchess of Kent (and behind her Lady Helen Taylor) and King Constantine!

What a marvelous turnout from the Windsors, it's absolutely great to see the Royal Family and so many relatives on the steps of the Chapel, a fantastic sight!

The Queen looked fantastic today, that suit is one of the best I've seen her in for a long time, and she always dresses lovely, but this one was really something special! Princess Michael's hat is really elegant, and Princesses Eugenie and Beatrice are really two elegant young ladies by now!

Good news about the Garter appointments, can't wait for the next Garter Service, that will be really something!

These are great pics. I only wish it had been a sunny day. It looks like its as dreary at Windsor as it is in New York now.

Its so great to see the whole family together along with some royals we hardly ever see. Its been ages since I've seen the Duchess of Kent and was sad to see her so worn down. I hope her health is OK.

I was not a fan of the fashions but fashions was not what this day was about. Beatrice and Eugenie are very pretty girls but I think they'd look prettier without the retro-20s dresses that go straight down and end with pleats and frills at mid-thigh. A woman would have to be a stick to look good in one of those creations.

__________________"One thing we can do is make the choice to view the world in a healthy way. We can choose to see the world as safe with only moments of danger rather than seeing the world as dangerous with only moments of safety."

Except for the hat and horrible brown shoes that don't go with anything, Beatrice looks nice -- for her. She has a "different" fashion sense than what I would consider flattering, but it's not as awful as her Christmas outfits have been recently.